The Texas Workforce Commission said its “top priority” is eliminating the backlog of unemployment benefits applications.

The Texas Workforce Commission has launched a virtual assistant that it hopes will help it process a deluge of unemployment claims as the federal coronavirus relief package promises expanded benefits for jobless Texans.

The chatbot is named “Larry The Chat Bot” after the Texas agency’s former Executive Director Larry Temple, who died in 2019. The assistant is live today, and can be found in the bottom right-hand corner of the TWC’s website.

The chatbot is capable of answering the 20 most-asked questions about unemployment insurance benefits, according to the agency.

“Our top priority is to eliminate the backlog, get Texans registered and on the path to getting the benefits they need,” TWC executive director Ed Serna said in a statement Wednesday.

Last week, the state agency responsible for providing unemployment benefits to Texans said more than 800,000 people were swamping the agency’s phone lines attempting to file for unemployment.

The agency now says the number of people trying to apply “rose to the millions within a week.”

The TWC said last week it had been working on improving its site functionality. The agency also said it was hiring 100 temporary workers to handle the influx of calls.

The $2 trillion federal coronavirus stimulus package signed into law by president Trump late last week will provide funding additional funding for unemployment benefits, the TWC said in a separate release.

The Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation included in the package allows states to expand unemployment benefits for an additional 13 weeks, and provides a $600 weekly increase for those laid off or furloughed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Workers who have been laid off and need to apply for unemployment are still being encouraged to apply online by the agency.

Dom DiFurio. Dom is a staff writer covering breaking business news. He writes about the companies and transactions that shape life in North Texas. Dom considers himself among the many transplants that moved to Texas from the crowded coasts who found more than enough reasons to call it home.